Early Surge Lifts UCO Past Lopers

Bronchos Won Six of First Seven Matches To Make National Duals Finals

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Studd Morris' first-match upset fueled an opening surge that carried No. 4-ranked Central Oklahoma past No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney and into the record books in the semifinals of the NWCA Division II National Duals Saturday morning.

The Bronchos won six of the first seven matches to seize an insurmountable 22-3 lead before the Lopers took the final three bouts to arrange the final 22-14 score. It was the school-record 29th consecutive win for UCO, now 7-0 on the season.

Central will go for its second straight title at 3 p.m. against top-ranked St. Cloud State. The Huskies are the last team to beat the Bronchos, winning 19-16 on Jan. 7, 2023 in the finals of this tournament.

"Really proud of our guys," head coach Todd Steidley said. "They wrestled hard and we won some matches at the end that we really needed to have. Studd gave us a big boost right off the bat and we also picked a couple of big bonus wins.

"It was a good win over a great Kearney team. We still have work to do and it will be a big challenge against St. Cloud, but our guys are looking forward to it."

Dylan Brown picked up a fall at 149, Zane Coleman added a major decision at 174 and Gabe Johnson scored an easy win at 157, while Morris, 133 Peter Rolle and 165 Hunter Jump all squeaked out tight wins in matches that came down to the final seconds.

The fifth-ranked Morris overcame an early 3-0 deficit to upend No. 1 Zach Ourada 5-4 and give the Bronchos an opening spark. Morris took the lead on a takedown with 19 seconds left and held Ourada down the rest of the way to finish off the upset.

Rolle followed with an equally dramatic victory. The 10th-rated senior broke a 1-1 deadlock with Hector Serratos on a takedown with just 15 seconds remaining to claim a 4-1 victory as UCO took a 6-0 lead.

UNK won at 141, but the Bronchos followed with four straight wins to clinch the dual.

The seventh-ranked Brown started the streak with a second-period fall, racking up three takedowns in building a 10-1 lead before decking Brady Collins at the 4:32 mark.

Johnson had a pair of takedowns in a methodical 8-1 triumph as the defending national champion and top-rated junior standout stayed perfect on the season.

Jump edged Trenton Munoz 4-2 in a match that came down to a last-second video review. A takedown with 1:05 left gave the seventh-ranked senior a 4-1 lead, but Munoz escaped eight seconds later and then was awarded a takedown on the edge with three seconds to go.

UCO challenged the call and after a video review the wrestlers were ruled to have been out of bounds and no points were awarded as Jump held on for the win.

Coleman ended UCO's surge with a dominating 20-8 upset of ninth-ranked Kaden Hart, scoring 14 points in the final 2:20.

Coleman got a reverse and two-point near-fall in the final 20 seconds of the second period to take a 10-7 lead, then tacked on two near-falls, a takedown and riding time point in the final stanza to complete the major decision that gave the Bronchos their big 22-3 cushion.

UCO 22, Nebraska-Kearney 14
125 – Studd Morris, UCO, dec. Zach Ourada, 5-4.
133 – Peter Rolle, UCO, dec. Hector Serratos, 4-1.
141 – Joseph Airola, UNK, dec. Josh Taylor, 7-3.
149 – Dylan Brown, UCO, pinned Brady Collins 4:32.
157 – Gabe Johnson, UCO, dec. Cael Robb, 8-1.
165 – Hunter Jump, UCO, dec. Trenton Munoz, 4-2.
174 – Zane Coleman, UCO, major dec. Kaden Hart, 20-8.
184 – Jacobi Deal, UNK, dec. Garrett Wells, 5-1.
197 – Jackson Kinsella, UNK, dec. Emmanuel Skillings, 4-1.
Hvy – Crew Howard, UNK, tech. fall Paul Sharp, 15-0.

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Brown: 5' 6"; Senior

Zane Coleman: 5' 10"; Senior

Gabe Johnson: 5' 8"; Junior

Hunter Jump: 6' 2"; Senior

Studd Morris: 5' 0"; Senior

Peter Rolle: 5' 7"; Senior

Emmanuel Skillings: 6' 1"; Junior

Josh Taylor: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Garrett Wells: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Paul Sharp: 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Dylan Brown
: 5' 6"; Senior

Zane Coleman
: 5' 10"; Senior

Gabe Johnson
: 5' 8"; Junior

Hunter Jump
: 6' 2"; Senior

Studd Morris
: 5' 0"; Senior

Peter Rolle
: 5' 7"; Senior

Emmanuel Skillings
: 6' 1"; Junior

Josh Taylor
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Garrett Wells
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

Paul Sharp
: 6' 3"; Sophomore